This invention relates to barbeques and in particular to a device for containing wood chips for use in smoke flavouring food as it is cooked on such barbeques. The device is located between the burner of the barbeque and a cooking grid which supports the food so that as the food is cooked the wood chips produce smoke which flows upwardly about the food. Air flow through the container can be restricted to limit the possibility of igniting and burning the wood chips and to control the flow of smoke.
Barbeques are a very popular means of cooking foods, particularly meats, and are often used outdoors as an alternative to a conventional stove. Generally a bargeque comprises a body formed of a base and a lid, a cooking grill supported in an upper portion of the base, and a heat source located in the base below the grill. The heat source may be in the form of burning charcoal or, as is becoming increasingly more common, a gas burner.
Charcoal fueled barbeques must be filled with the appropriate fuel before use and the fuel must then be ignited and burned under controlled conditions to ensure that the food is cooked and not burned. After use, ashes from the fuel must be cleared and the barbeque prepared for further use by adding more fuel. These barbeques give the food a characteristic "barbequed" taste which many users consider to be an essential feature of barbeque cooking. This taste stems at least in part from the burning of fat which drips from the food being cooked.
For greater convenience "clean" heat sources, especially gas burners, are being used inceasingly in barbeques. To achieve an even distribution of heat from a gas burner, a layer of natural lava cinders is contained on a grate between the burner and the cooking grill.
Though less popular than barbeque cooking, it is also common to smoke food at home, using an appliance which burns various typs of wood in chip form, the smoke rising to permeate food hung above the burning wood.
In an effort to give foods cooked on gas barbeques this sought after smoked flavour, it is known to place wood chips over the above-mentioned cinders on trays such that the chips are burned by the heat source to provide smoke to flavour the food. However, this negates many of the advantages gained by barbequeing with gas because the resulting ashes are inconvenient to remove and discard and also because the burning wood chips will tend to burn the food. In addition, it is both inconvenient and dangerous to replenish the supply of wood chips during cooking.